The Muslim Brotherhood: the Arab Spring its Future Face

The Muslim Brotherhood is the most significant and enduring Sunni Islamist organization of the contemporary era. Its roots lie in the Middle East but it has grown into both a local and global movement, with its well-placed branches reacting effectively to take the opportunities for power and electoral competition offered by the Arab Spring.

Regarded by some as a force of moderation among Islamists, and by others as a façade hiding a terrorist fundamentalist threat, the potential influence of the Muslim Brotherhood on Middle Eastern politics remains ambiguous.The Muslim Brotherhood: The Arab Spring and its Future Face provides an essential insight into the organisation, with chapters devoted to specific cases where the Brotherhood has important impacts on society, the state and politics. Key themes associated with the Brotherhood, such as democracy, equality, pan-Islamism, radicalism, reform, the Palestine issue and gender, are assessed to reveal an evolutionary trend within the movement since its founding in Egypt in 1928 to its manifestation as the largest Sunni Islamist movement in the Middle East in the 21st century. The book addresses the possible future of the Muslim Brotherhood; whether it can surprise sceptics and effectively accommodate democracy and secular trends, and how its ascension to power through the ballot box might influence Western policy debates on their engagement with this manifestation of political Islam.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, this book presents a comprehensive study of a newly resurgent movement and is a valuable resource for students, scholars and policy makers focused on Middle Eastern Politics.

When sisters become brothers : the inclusion of women in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, 1952-2005

Depuis la création des Sœurs Musulmanes, le chapitre féminin des Frères Musulmans en Égypte, le rôle que l’organisation a accordé aux femmes a changé plusieurs fois. Pendant certaines périodes, les militantes ont été inclues dans les activités politiques de l’organisation, alors que pendant d’autres périodes, elles étaient forcées de s’occuper de différentes activités d’aide sociale au près de la population. Ce mémoire essaie d’expliquer les raisons qui expliquent les différents changements dans le niveau d’inclusion ou d’exclusion des militantes dans les Frères Musulmans. Cette étude utilise trois périodes pour illustrer ces différents changements : 1952-1967 (inclusion), 1970-1984 (exclusion) and 1984-2005 (inclusion). Cette recherche conclue que, pendant des périodes où la survie des Frères Musulmans est remise en question, l’organisation sera forcée d’inclure les militantes dans leurs activités. Chaque changement dans l’inclusion des femmes est aussi marqué par un changement du contexte politique et des relations avec le gouvernement. Ces changements ne sont donc pas des produits de changement idéologique de l’organisation, mais plutôt causés par des raisons rationnelles.

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the spectacle of Hama

The Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has been a key diplomatic player in the current Syrian uprising; a role that stands in stark contrast to its reputation among Western authors. This article argues that this chasm between the Brotherhood’s practice and reputation is a legacy of the 1982 Hama massacre. The slaughter has become a “spectacle,” as per the theory of Guy Debord, leading Hama to take on an exaggerated significance in portrayals of the Brotherhood.

Foreign Policy Essay: Hamas's Islamist Foes

Editor’s Note: The United States rightly regards the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Palestinian organization Hamas as a terrorist group, but Hamas is also the de facto government of the Gaza Strip. There it juggles the responsibilities of governing Gaza and the associated need to mollify Israel with its self-image as an Islamic “resistance” movement. Making this difficult act even harder, Hamas faces a terrorism problem of its own. Gaza is home to a range of groups that see Hamas as too accommodating toward Israel and too lenient when it comes to imposing Islamic law at home. Beverley Milton-Edwards, a professor at Queen’s University Belfast and renowned expert on Hamas, assesses these Islamist rivals and the risks for Hamas of being too confrontational or too passive in dealing with them.

Análisis de los movimientos islamistas en Egipto. Estudio de caso: la Hermandad Musulmana (1981 – 2010).

El propósito de este trabajo es demostrar el análisis de los movimientos islamistas en Egipto, en este caso la Hermandad Musulmana. Para esto nos enfocaremos en una primera parte a estudiar el origen de la Hermandad musulmana, debatiremos si existe una carta fundacional o un programa político, incluso analizaremos el intento de formalizar un programa político durante la presidencia de Hosni Mubarak y la Hermandad contemporánea. En la segunda parte, será primordial el estudio de la reforma política de 2007 en Egipto, estudiaremos la posición de la reforma desde el punto de vista del Partido Nacional Democrático (PND), de Hosni Mubarak, de la Hermandad Musulmana, de los partidos políticos de oposición y de la comunidad internacional. Finalmente abordaremos las estrategias políticas de la Hermandad Musulmana durante el gobierno de Hosni Mubarak, luego estudiaremos las estrategias políticas implementadas por el Presidente Mubarak y analizaremos las relaciones entre la Hermandad Musulmana y Hosni Mubarak durante la presidencia.

La influencia de la Hermandad Musulmana en los movimientos islamistas radicales. Estudio de Caso: Movimiento de Resistencia Islámica - Hamás (1987 - 2010).

El propósito de este trabajo es demostrar la influencia ideológica y accionar que ejerce la Hermandad Musulmana en grupos islamistas, en este caso en Hamás. Para esto nos enfocaremos en una primera parte a estudiar la ideología de la Hermandad Musulmana en Egipto por medio de Hassan al-Banna el principal fundador de la Hermandad, el programa político, la evolución del movimiento después de la muerte de al-Banna, la obra de Sayyid Qutb y la Hermandad Musulmana como movimiento transnacional en otros países. En la segunda parte, será primordial el estudio de Hamás, en cuanto a sus objetivos, principios y accionar, la carta fundacional, el conflicto de Israel, la relación de Hamás con otros movimientos, el Dawa, las políticas sociales y la victoria de Hamás. Por último, se abordará la incidencia que tuvo la Hermandad Musulmana de Egipto en la ideología y accionar de Hamás, para esto es necesario estudiar a Ahmed Yassin, uno de los principales fundadores del movimiento, analizar la relación entre la Hermandad y Hamás, las cartas fundacionales, el yihad, la intifada y la relación del accionar político de los movimientos.

Dinámicas de externalización entre las ONG locales y las ONG extranjeras (terceros actores) presentes en Egipto: 2004-2009 (TERCEROS ACTORES) PRESENTES EN EGIPTO: 2004-2009

El propósito de la presente monografía es evaluar el papel de las ONG internacionales en la apertura de espacios de participación política para la sociedad civil en Egipto. En ese sentido, se analiza el contexto de oportunidades políticas locales y transnacionales del país, así como los procesos de articulación entre la política local e internacional a través de los niveles de integración entre sus actores. Mediante una investigación de tipo cualitativa basada en los desarrollos sobre teorías de la acción colectiva planteados por Sidney Tarrow, Charles Tilly, Robert Benford y David Snow, y las teorías sobre redes transnacionales de defensa desarrolladas por Margaret Keck y Kathryn Sikkink, se avanza hacia la identificación del desarrollo de procesos de externalización como medio para el fortalecimiento de organizaciones locales como alternativa de oposición política.

Did Egypt's Parliamentary Election just trump citizens’ rights? Arab Citizenship Review No. 12, 19 November 2015

Since the Muslim Brotherhood rule was toppled in July 2013, the regime of President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi has strived to consolidate his one-man rule; he painted the political opposition and civil society as traitors and foreign agents and exploited the fight against terrorism to suppress freedom of expression, justify a crackdown on the press, eclipse justice in courtrooms, throw thousands in prison, and tighten his grip on police forces. The regime has postponed parliamentary elections for some time, while it marginalised and weakened the non-Islamist political parties that helped Sisi take power. He did so by promoting electoral lists with candidates who are loyal to the president, to ensure control over the new assembly and by obstructing any political alliance that could form an opposition. At the same time, the security apparatus has been given free rein to control the public sphere and engineer the electoral process. This may ultimately lead to a parliament that includes no advocates for rights and liberties, which is particularly significant since the incoming assembly will review the huge amount of legislation that President Sisi has issued in the absence of a parliament. In addition, shortly before elections, President Sisi raised questions about the constitution, calling for it to be amended to reduce the powers of the parliament and increase those of the president. It is thus clear that Sisi seeks not only to consolidate his regime, without political opposition, but to free his rule of any effective oversight from society or parliament.

A mérsékelt iszlamista mozgalmak szerepe az "arab tavaszt" követő politikai átmenetben (The Role of Moderate Islamist Movements in the Political Transition Following the Arab Spring)

Up to January 2011 authoritarian political regimes in the Middle East had widely been considered stable due to the armed forces, the underdeveloped political institutions, the economic embeddedness of the regimes, the neo-patrimonial structure of the Arab societies and, eventually the characteristics of Islam. Middle Eastern political systems are often considered to belong to a special sub-group of non-democratic regimes called “liberalized autocracies”. The 2011 events show that there is a new, as yet non-defined political structure emerging. Although there are different interpretations of the developments, there is a consensus on the determinant role of the Islamist organizations in the development of the new political structure. The results of the Egyptian and Tunisian parliamentary elections show that the secular political parties could not attract the public, while in Tunisia the long forbidden Hizb an-Nahda could form a government. In Egypt Hizb al-Hurriya established by the Muslim Brotherhood in 2011 won almost half of the parliamentary mandates, and to a great surprise, the Salafi Hizb an-Nour also received 24.3% of the votes. On the basis of the above developments the thesis of the Islamist re-organization of the Middle East, i.e. of a new wave of Islamism was elaborated, according to which the main political winners of the revolts in the Arab countries are the Islamist organizations, which could step in and fill in the political vacuum. While some speak of an Islamist autumn or Islamist winter as the result of the Arab Spring, others prefer the term Islamic revolutions.

Islamist movements at crossroads: the choice between ideology and context-driven approach to politics. Case study on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The aim of the paper is to analyse the ongoing transformation process within the Islamist movements using the example of the moderate Islamic Action Front party in Jordan. The dilemma of participation in the 2010 general elections raised tensions between the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and its political wing, the Islamic Action Front, and between doves and hawks of the same organizations. Internal debate on the future has started recently among different groups within the Islamist movement in Jordan. The research is based on the author‘s recent field experience in Jordan (April–July 2010, Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at the American Centre of Oriental Research, Amman, Jordan). The author also conducted research in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt, where several interviews were carried out with leading and lower level Islamist politicians. The dynamic changes within Islamic Action Front Party in Jordan and its relation with the regime has been used as reference point. The main question of the research was aa how the changing political and regional context shapes decisions of the Islamist with special attention to the acceptance of democratic values and human rights, political participation, and the meanings of Islamic values in the 21st century, possible cooperation with secular parties/movements/the regime.

Islamist Cyber Networks in Spanish-Speaking Latin America

Despite significant concern among policy, law enforcement and intelligence communities in the United States (U.S.) over the possible spread of radical Islamist thought throughout the world as part of a global jihad movement, there has been little investigation into the growing cyber networks in Latin America that promote strong anti-Semitic and anti-U.S. messages. This paper offers an overview of that network, focusing on the structure of Shi’ite websites that promote not only religious conversion but are also supportive of Iran -- a designated State-sponsor of terrorism – its nuclear program. Hezbollah, and the “Bolivarian revolution” led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his allies in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua. There is also a smaller group of Sunni Muslim websites, mostly tied to the legacy organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Many of the Shi’ite websites are linked to each other consistently portray Israel as a Nazi State, and the United States as an imperialist war monger. The Palestinian issue is frequently juxtaposed with the anti-imperialist struggle that those states supporting Chávez’ Bolivarian revolution claim to wage against the United States. Some of the Islamist websites claim thousands of new convert, but such claims are difficult to verify. Most of the websites visited touted the conversion of one or two individuals as significant victories and signs of progress, implying that there are few, if any, mass conversions. While conducting this research, no websites directly claiming to be linked to Hezbollah were found, although there numerous sites hosted by that group that were active until around 2006. Several of the inactive links are supportive of Hezbollah as a political party. No websites linked to al Qaeda were found. Yet a substantial Internet network remains operational. Much of the outreach for Shi’ite Muslims, closely tied to Iran, is sponsored on numerous websites across the region, including El Salvador, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Bolivia. Numerous Facebook forums for discussion are also hosted around Latin America. These links must be viewed in the context of the rapidly expanding diplomatic, intelligence, political and economic ties of Iran in recent years with the self-proclaimed Bolivarian states. Given the sparse literature available and the rich vein of un-mined information on the sites cited as well as others that one could find with additional research, the cyber network of Islamist groups remains one of the least understood or studied facets of their presence in Latin America and the Caribbean. It merits significantly more investigation.

Tolerance, Freedom, Justice and Peace?: Britain, Australia and anti-Muslim Racism in the UK and Australia before 11 September 2001

Since 11 September 2001, Muslim minorities have experienced intensive "othering" in “Western” countries, above all in those US-led anglophone nations which invaded Afghanistan and Iraq to prosecute their "war on terror". This paper examines the cases of Britain and Australia, where whole communities of Muslims have been criminalised as "evil" and a "fifth column" enemy within by media, politicians, the security services and the criminal justice system. Although constituted by disparate ethnic groups, the targeted communities in each of these nations have experienced similar treatment in the State's anti-terrorist measures, as well as ideological responses and everyday racism, making comparable the two cases.